Provider empathy may improve patient satisfaction, but more research is needed

Key takeaways:

• Practitioner empathy was associated with patient satisfaction based on evidence from 14 randomized clinical trials.
• However, the studies had limitations, preventing a definitive conclusion.

Practitioner empathy was associated with greater patient satisfaction, according to results from more than a dozen trials, although the findings were hampered by inadequate reporting and a risk of bias, according to researchers.

Leila Keshtkar, PhD, a researcher from the University of Leicester, in England, and colleagues explained that increased patient satisfaction has been associated with improvements in patient outcomes, quality of care and medication adherence.

“Investigating empathy interventions to improve patient satisfaction is important because in addition to directly affecting patient satisfaction, empathy may reduce pain and improve safety, which could also contribute to improved patient satisfaction,” they wrote in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The researchers evaluated 14 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) — comprising 80 practitioners and 1,986 patients — that assessed the impact of empathy on patient satisfaction.

Overall, practitioner empathy was associated with positive change in patient satisfaction.

“On this basis, clinicians may be increasingly tempted to find ways to enhance the way they express empathy, and policymakers may accelerate any encouragement for clinicians to do so,” Keshtkar and colleagues wrote. “However, several barriers to implementing the evidence need to be addressed.”

For example, the trials were heterogenous in terms of location, setting, the types of practitioners involved and the type of randomization. Moreover, five studies had a high risk of bias, and none had an overall low risk of bias, they said.

Also, “the training interventions were often sparsely described, rendering the interventions difficult to apply,” Keshtkar and colleagues explained. “How empathy training changes practitioner behavior and which behaviors are most likely to improve patient satisfaction are unknown.”

Keshtkar and colleagues called for additional research.

“This will allow practitioners and policymakers to identify and implement the most effective ways to train practitioners and the practitioner behaviors that are most effective at improving patient satisfaction,” they wrote.